Historicism - Prophecy fulfilled across the span of history
(as found in the end-times teachings of Wycliffe, Tyndale,
Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards)Neohistoricism - Prophecy fulfilled across the span of history
including today
(extending the end-times teachings of Wycliffe,
Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Knox, Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards)

Reformers

Bible believers from the Reformation onward understood
Bible prophecy as describing events from the time of ancient Egypt
until the end of the world: the suffering of the Jewish people, the
rise and fall of empires and the final victory of Christ's Kingdom.
They clearly identified the Antichrist and the beasts of Revelation.
But, by the early 20th Century, most churches forgot these 'historicist'
understandings, and adopted instead 'preterist' or 'futurist' teachings
that had been formulated by Jesuits to oppose the Reformation. Why?
Could it be that the churches preferred a more
'politically correct' approach that would not offend anyone?
Read what
the Reformers said, and how their methods of interpretation explain
today's world and where we are heading.

Why it matters

Islamic terror, clergy sex abuse and wars
in the Middle East are all explained by Bible prophecy when today's events
are examined through the historicism of the Reformers.
Why are we experiencing
weird weather patterns and climate change? Where was God during the
Holocaust, when Nazis and Islamists conspired to systematically exterminate
the Jewish people in death camps for 3-1/2 years? Why have perversions
and sex outside of marriage replaced biblical morality as today's norm?
Why have there been more U.N. resolutions on the status of Jerusalem than
on any other spot in the world?
Futurism and preterism shed no light on
these questions, but historicism explains them all--and what is yet to come.

Luther

Today's 'futurists' use the prophecy of
Daniel chapter 9 to predict a 7-year 'tribulation' after Christians
are raptured to heaven at Christ's return. But Martin Luther
understood it quite differently: He taught that the seven years
comprised Jesus' 3-1/2 year ministry, plus the next 3-1/2 years when
the Apostles preached to Jews only:
"For when Christ sent out the Gospel through the ministry of himself and of the Apostles, it lasted three or three and a half years, that it almost amounts to the calculation of Daniel, namely the 490 years. Hence he also says, Christ shall take a half a week, in which the daily offerings shall cease; that is, the priesthood and reign of the Jews shall have an end; which all took place in the three and a half years in which Christ preached, and was almost completed in four years after Christ, in which the Gospel prospered the most, especially in Palestine through the Apostles (that when they opened their mouth, the Holy Ghost fell as it were, from heaven, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles), so that a whole week, or seven years, established the covenant, as Daniel says; that is, the Gospel was preached to the Jews, of which we spoke before."
(Martin Luther's "Sermon for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity; Matthew 24:15-28" from his Church Postil, first published in 1525)

Calvin

John Calvin agreed with Martin Luther on Daniel's 70th week. Calvin emphasized that the middle of that last 'week' occurred at the time of Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross:
"The angel now continues his discourse concerning Christ by saying, he should confirm the treaty with many for one week. ...the angel says, Christ should confirm the covenant for one week..." (Lecture Fifty-First)
"In the last Lecture we explained how Christ confirmed the covenant with many during the last week..." (Lecture Fifty-Second)
"The Prophet now subjoins, He will make to cease the sacrifice and offering for half a week. We ought to refer this to the time of the resurrection. For while Christ passed through the period of his life on earth, he did not put an end to the sacrifices; but after he had offered himself up as a victim, then all the rites of the law came to a close. ...This is the Prophet's intention when he says, Christ should cause the sacrifices to cease for half a week. ...Christ really and effectually put an end to the sacrifices of the Law..."
(Lecture Fifty-Second, Commentary on Daniel - Volume 2 by John Calvin)
Today's dispensational futurists toss aside Calvin's and Luther's understanding, and turn this prophecy on its head, claiming it is a future Antichrist who confirms the covenant, instead of Christ.

Daniel's Beasts

The Old Testament prophet Daniel saw in vision a beast "like a lion" with wings, "a second beast, which looked like a bear," "another beast, one that looked like a leopard" and "a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening, and very powerful" with "ten horns." (Dan. 7:2-6 NIV)
An angel gave Daniel "the interpretation of these things," namely that "The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth." (Dan. 7:16-17 NIV)
Bible commentators have long agreed that Daniel's four beasts are the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. Reformer John Calvin was familiar with the works of other scholars and declared in his Commentaries on the Book of Daniel, volume 2, "It is clear that the four monarchies are here depicted. But it is not agreed upon among all writers which monarchy is the last, and which the third. With regard to the first, all agree in understanding the vision of the Chaldean Empire, which was joined with the Assyrian, as we saw before. For Nineveh was absorbed by the Chaldeans and Babylonians."
Respected Bible commentator Albert Barnes took a similar position in his Notes. Commenting on the beast of Revelation 13:1, he referred back to Daniel's vision and wrote
"Thus in Daniel (vii. 2-7) the lion is introduced as the symbol of the Babylonian power; the bear, as the symbol of the Medo-Persian; the leopard, as the symbol of the Macedonian; and a nondescript animal, fierce, cruel, and mighty, with two horns, as the symbol of the Roman."
So, while there were differences in the details, most traditional writers agreed Daniel was referring to the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires--all of which dominated the world scene that included Israel.
Besides making for an interesting history lesson, Daniel's beasts also help us understand the events of our modern world, and the coming events foretold in the New Testament book of Revelation. There the Apostle John saw in vision another beast "like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion." (Rev. 13:2) This beast of Revelation 13:1-10 is clearly a composite of the separate beasts Daniel saw. Daniel's beasts were successive individual human governments, so Revelation's composite beast must represent human government across the span of history.

Rev. 13:1 Beasts

The Apostle John's
later vision rolls Daniel's four beasts into one. Daniel's beasts (animals) have a total of seven heads and ten horns, while John sees a single beast (animal) with seven heads and ten horns.

While each of Daniel's four beasts stood for a successive empire, the composite beast John saw incorporated into one body the whole series of biblical ruling powers down through history. It carried all seven heads and all ten horns on one body.
For centuries the beast of Rev. 13:1 has been identified with human governments. Respected commentator Matthew Henry indicated in his Concise Commentary on the Bible, that he saw the 7-headed beast as encompassing all the Gentile world powers from the Babylonian empire through the Roman empire:
"It appears to mean that worldly, oppressing dominion, which for many ages, even from the times of the Babylonish captivity, had been hostile to the church. The first beast then began to oppress and persecute the righteous for righteousness' sake, but they suffered most under the fourth beast of Daniel, (the Roman empire,) which has afflicted the saints with many cruel persecutions. The source of its power was the dragon. It was set up by the devil, and supported by him. . . . The world admired its power, policy and success. They paid honour and subjection to the devil and his instruments. It exercised infernal power and policy, requiring men to render that honour to creatures which belongs to God alone."
Dispensational futurists expect a man, a single individual, to assume the role of 'the beast of Revelation' during a supposed 7-year Tribulation, but that interpretation would go against the understanding that the beasts in Daniel represent entire governments, and the beast of Rev. 13:1 a composite representation of human government down through history.

His Prediction

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) did not live to see the modern restoration of Israel, which has provoked Muslims to anger worldwide, but that Bible scholar and president of Princeton University wrote in his book A History of the Work of Redemption that Islam would rise up against the Church as part of the end-times events:
"It seems as though in this last great opposition which shall be made against the church to defend the kingdom of Satan, all the forces of Antichrist and Mahometanism and heathenism will be united: all the forces of Satan's visible kingdom through the whole world of mankind. And therefore it is said, that 'spirits of devils [shall] go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty' (Rev. 16:14). And these spirits are said to come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; that is, there shall be the spirit of Popery, and the spirit of Mahometanism, and the spirit of heathenism, all united. By the beast is meant Antichrist; by the dragon, in this book, is commonly meant the devil, as he reigns over his heathen kingdom; by the false prophet, in this book, is sometimes meant the Pope and his clergy, but here an eye seems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call the great prophet of God. This will be as it were the dying struggles of the old serpent, a battle wherein he will fight as one that is almost desperate. (p. 375-376)
"But Christ and his church shall in this battle obtain a complete and entire victory over their enemies (p. 377)
"In this victory, the seventh vial shall be poured out. It is said of the great army that should be gathered together against Christ, 'And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon,' and then it is said, 'And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done' (Rev. 16:16-17). Now the business is done for Satan and his adherents. When this victory is obtained, all is in effect done. Satan's last and greatest opposition is conquered; all his measures are defeated; the pillars of his kingdom broken asunder, and will fall of course. The devil is utterly baffled and confounded, and knows not what else to do. He now sees his Antichristian, and Mahometan, and heathenish kingdoms through the world all tumbling about his ears. He and his most powerful instruments are taken captive. Now that is in effect done which the church of God had been so long waiting and hoping for, and so earnestly crying to God for, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true!' Now the time is come." (p. 377-378)

Antichrist

English Bible translator John Wycliffe (1320-1384) wrote that
"It is supposed, and with much probability, that the Roman pontiff
is the great Antichrist." His close contemporary Czech priest John Huss
(or Jan Hus) (1372-1417) declared a century before the Reformation that
the pope was "antichrist, or at least the chief and principal minister
or vicar of antichrist." During the early 1200's Eberhard II, archbishop
of Salzburg, examined the history of the papacy and drew the same
conclusion. In the mid-1300's Michael of Cesena (or Michael Sesenas)
declared the Pope to be "Antichrist."
Martin Luther and John Calvin
later expanded on these teachings, identifying Islam as one of the "legs" or "horns" of Antichrist, the papacy being the other leg or horn.
Using the Inquisition and other instruments, the papacy put thousands of
Bible-readers to death for their faith over the centuries, and today Islam does the same to any who dare preach the Gospel or embrace Christ within its borders.
Calvin declared, "Like as Mohammed says that his Koran is the sovereign wisdom, so says the Pope of his own decrees: For they are the two horns of Antichrist." (The Sermons of M. John Calvin upon the Fifth Booke of Moses called Deuteronomie)
Calvin also wrote, "Paul, however, does not speak of one individual, but of a kingdom, that was to be taken possession of by Satan, that he might set up a seat of abomination in the midst of God's temple--which we see accomplished in Popery. The revolt, it is true, has spread more widely, for Mahomet, as he was an apostate, turned away the Turks, his followers, from Christ." (Calvin's Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians)
While Calvin saw the papacy and Islam as the two "horns" of the Antichrist, Martin Luther saw them as the two "legs" of the same Antichrist. (Luther's Works, Weimer ed., 53, 394f.) Luther added, "the Pope is the spirit of antichrist, and the Turk is the flesh of antichrist. They help each other in their murderous work. The latter slaughters bodily by the sword; and the former spiritually by doctrine." (Luther's Tischreden, Weimer ed., 1, No. 330)
Is it any wonder then, that clergy sex abuse--permitted by the papacy for generations--has turned millions away from Christ? Or that Islam imposes a death penalty on Muslims who choose to follow Jesus?
What could be more "anti"-Christ than that?

What could men who lived hundreds of years ago possibly know about today's Islamic terror and clergy sex abuse?

You may be amazed to find out.

Back in 1520 Martin Luther wrote to Pope Leo X that "the Church of Rome . . . has become the most lawless den of thieves, the most shameless of all brothels."

Luther, Calvin and the other Reformers saw the corruption in the Vatican as foretold in Scripture, and they understood the role of radical Islam in the end times. They wrote at length about both matters, and the things they said can help us face these crises today.

Their wisdom can also help us understand events yet to come -- events that will take many people by surprise (because they are unfamiliar with what the Reformers wrote), but that will come as no surprise to those who read this book, NeoHistoricism: Why Islamic Terror and Clergy Sex Abuse Wouldn't Surprise Luther, Calvin, Wycliffe, Knox, Wesley, Spurgeon or Jonathan Edwards.

There was a time when, if you were a Bible-believing Christian, you were also an "historicist." It was the approach to prophecy taught by the great preachers and teachers from the 1300s through the 1800s.

NEOHISTORICISM is historicism brought up to date -- applying their methods to events that have occurred since that time.

Islamic terror, clergy sex abuse, the Holocaust, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, deforestation, depletion of fish stocks, and even climate change are all better understood in the light of the historicists' teachings.

DAVID A. REED served for a decade as a contributing editor of Dr. Walter Martin's CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL. He taught in 1997 and 2015 at the annual School of Theology at Spurgeon's Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. His first book on biblical apologetics, published in 1986 by Baker Book House, sold more than 1/4-million copies in several languages. Since then he has authored twenty books on apologetics and eschatology.

United Nations vs Israeland the End of the Worldby David A. Reed"Jerusalem will be...burdening the world...all the nations unite in an attempt..."-Zech. 12:3 LB"Jerusalem shall be...administered by the United Nations"-UN General Assembly Resolution 181
"they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle...to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon."-Rev. 16:14-16 NIV"Recalling its resolution 181...the proclamation of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel...null and void and must be rescinded"-UN General Assembly Resolution 66/18, Jan. 2012
"...all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem."-Zech 12:3 NCV
MORE INFORMATIONBuy printed book from publisherBuy from Amazon.comRead FREE online/save as FREE PDF file at UNvsIL.com